Welcome to Our Secure Future’s monthly Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Digest, “the done for you” newsletter on WPS. Every month we curate the latest articles and reports on intersectional, cross-cutting issues focused on women’s rights, and international peace and security matters. Here's what we found in the month of April.
Climate Change
Why women are key to climate action (UN Climate Action)
“Given their position on the frontlines of the climate crisis, women are uniquely situated to be agents of change — to help find ways to mitigate the causes of global warming and adapt to its impacts on the ground.”
COP, Gender Quotas, and Policies: Implications for the MENA Region and Beyond (Wilson Center)
“The participation of women in the COPs and the associated climate change decisions are essential because they generate more effective and sustainable climate change policy outcomes.”
Empowering women for effective climate change adaptation - the role of the private sector (Adaptation Community)
“Taking a gender-responsive approach when designing adaptation products and services or when investing in the adaptation space, is a sure way to increase impact and capitalize on multiple other developmental benefits along the way. While still nascent, gender in the context of private sector solutions to climate change adaptation is a field of growing interest in the international community.”
Gender-Based Violence and Climate Change: the challenges of environmental peacebuilding in Colombia (Peace News)
“Understanding how climate change amplifies and intersects with other categories of oppression allows a more comprehensive read of the Colombian reality during peacebuilding, which could prove vital in achieving “total peace.”
Technology
Online images are making gender bias worse, research shows (The Fuller Project)
“Images of men dominate the Internet, and the imbalance can worsen people’s already biased perceptions about men and women, a team of U.S. researchers has found.”
Launch of the 2024 Gender Report: Technology on her terms (UNESCO)
“The 2024 Gender Report delves into the nuanced dynamics of gender and technology within educational settings, acknowledging the potential of technology to transform learning experiences while also recognizing its role in perpetuating existing disparities. The report shows that gender divides exist at all stages of intersections between technology and education.”
A Commitment To Closing Gender Parity In Tech (Forbes)
“Together, we can create a world where all people have equal opportunity in the workplace, and emerging technologies foster this commitment.”
Fintech has a gender problem – here’s why you should care (The Conversation)
“Fintech sits at the intersection of three sectors: finance, technology and entrepreneurship. Gender inequalities in each of these combine to form what we call a “triple glass ceiling” in the fintech industry. The longstanding male dominance, continued privileging of masculinity, and rigid gender stereotypes in each of these sectors hinder meaningful progress and change in fintech.”
Atrocity Prevention and Global Fragility Act
Time is running out for international action to protect civilians and prevent atrocity crimes in Rafah, as UN Security Council resolution is ignored (Amnesty International)
“A week since the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, and days since the International Court of Justice issued additional provisional measures in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, States must act urgently to ensure its enforcement and prevent atrocity crimes in Rafah as attacks intensify, warn 15 humanitarian and human rights organizations.”
One Year Ago, War Broke Out in Sudan. What Can Be Done to Prioritize Protection of Civilians? (Stimson)
“For the first time in nearly 20 years, Sudan is without a UN peace operation that enables or supports the protection of civilians, increasing the likelihood that the already severe protection gaps in country will worsen.”
Thirty years after Rwanda, genocide is still a problem from hell (The Economist)
“Thirty years later, the Rwandan genocide is remembered as one of two events in the 1990s that prodded a guilt-ridden world to pledge never again to stand aside and allow mass atrocities.”
Sudan: UN Committee urges end to ethnic violence and hate speech, calls for immediate ceasefire (UN OHCHR)
“Alarmed by the increase of ethnic violence in Sudan since the outbreak of hostilities on 15 April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) today urged Sudan to address and prevent further escalation of ethnic violence, incitement to racial hatred and racist hate speech.”
General WPS
Institutionalizing Women, Peace and Security: The Role of Gender and WPS Advisors in the United States Government (Our Secure Future)
“This brief assesses the United States government’s progress on advancing the Women, Peace and Security agenda through the work of Women, Peace and Security Advisors, Gender Advisors, and additional positions that have this as a component of their work. It is designed as a starting point for discussion to help policymakers: improve their understanding of these roles; strengthen their knowledge on why this agenda can help achieve more durable peace around the world; and provide recommendations on how to create a more robust infrastructure to better support these critical roles.”
Deep Dive Recap: Advancing Women, Peace and Security through National Action Plans (NATO)
“On 19 March 2024, the NATO International Military Staff (IMS) Office of the Gender Advisor convened a Deep Dive session on advancing Women, Peace and Security (WPS) through National Action Plans (NAPs). It provided a global overview of WPS NAPs before hearing individual national perspectives from Romania, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands.”
Vietnam adopts the Women, Peace and Security agenda (ASPI: The Strategist)
“Vietnam has become the third country in the Association of South East Asian Nations to adopt a national action plan for the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, promoting meaningful inclusion of women in peace and security decision-making.”
Silence the guns, amplify women’s voices for peace to end rape in wartime (UN News)
“Presenting her annual report, Pramila Patten, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, noted that weapons continue to flow into the hands of perpetrators while most victims remain emptyhanded when it comes to reparations and redress.”
“The First Annual Meeting of the ECOWAS Women Peace and Security Regional Steering Group for 2024 was formally launched by the ECOWAS Commission. The focus of this important event, which takes place in Abuja from April 22nd to 24th, is themed “Sustaining the Momentum Towards Monitoring and Reporting on the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda in West Africa Using the Continental Results Framework (CRF).’”
UN Tools for Addressing Conflict-Related Sexual Violence: An Analysis of Listings and Sanctions Processes (International Peace Institute)
“This paper analyzes the relationship between the annual reports of the secretary-general on CRSV and sanctions designations to provide recommendations to enhance their complementarity.”
New CTED report highlights civil society’s critical role in supporting victims and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence linked to terrorism (UN Security Council – Counter-Terrorism Committee)
“The United Nations Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED) published its latest report on sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) linked to terrorism, reflecting key insights from a broad range of civil society organizations (CSOs) working in this area from across Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North America.”
Redefining security, Our Secure Future champions women’s voices (Digital Journal)
“The world is facing unprecedented challenges, from geopolitical tensions to digital vulnerabilities. With this, the quest for a more peaceful world has never been more critical. How can women’s voices, so often sidelined in corridors of power, become heard in international peace and security?”
Notable Events (Past and Upcoming)
April 11, 2024 - Sudan Conflict One Year On: Women’s Leadership, Impacts, and Ways Forward (Refugees International)
“On April 11, 2024, Alliance for Peacebuilding, Refugees International, and Vital Voices hosted a hybrid event marking the one-year anniversary of the conflict in Sudan.”
April 17, 2024 - Engaging Youth for Gender-Just Climate Action (Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security)
“This virtual side event to the ECOSOC Youth Forum convened youth activists and multilateral stakeholders to discuss the importance of young women’s leadership in climate action and how their meaningful engagement in climate policy can be better supported.”
April 18, 2024 - Her Power 2024 (Foreign Policy)
“On the heels of the 68th Commission on the Status of Women concluding in New York City, and before the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C., Foreign Policy held the 6th annual Her Power Summit. Together, policymakers, global innovators, and the private sector explored how economic empowerment for women is economic empowerment for the world.”
May 21-23, 2024 - Gen-Forum 2024: Young Leaders for Women, Peace and Security (UN Women: Asia and the Pacific)
“Gen-Forum 2024: Young Leaders for Women, Peace and Security will bring together a rising generation of Women, Peace and Security (WPS) advocates from across Asia and the Pacific to examine regional peace and security challenges, including new and emerging security issues. The forum will build the expertise and leadership of young champions in advancing the WPS Agenda and place youth perspectives at the forefront of accelerating WPS commitments.”
May 24, 2024 - No One Left Behind: Addressing Data Gaps for an Equitable Loss and Damage Fund Distribution (Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security)
“This side event will convene a panel of experts to discuss what data and action is needed for the international community to properly address the needs of the most vulnerable in SIDS [small island developing states], and how NELD [non-economic losses and damage] can be meaningfully considered in an equitable distribution of the loss and damage fund.”